The story Opatija

The small church of St. Jacob in the center of Opatija is considered the historical origin and namesake of Opatija (Opatija = abbey). Benedictine fugitives built a Capuchin monastery here around 1420, which stood alone for around a hundred years. Not a spectacular place - until the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy: between 1867 and 1918, the then "Abbazia" experienced an unprecedented building and tourism boom.

Villa Angiolina is considered the cradle of all tourist activities. After the merchant Iginio Scarpa from Rijeka acquired it and the surrounding peninsula in 1844, created an unprecedented park with exotic plants, transformed the unadorned house into a magnificent villa and named it after his late wife, he invited famous friends to lavish parties, which soon turned the place into a popular meeting place for the "rich, beautiful and blue-blooded".

The First World War brought the end of Austria-Hungary. The Opatija Riviera went to Italy in 1918 and to Yugoslavia after 1945, which led to the decline of the resort. Although Opatija was a popular summer destination under socialism, it lost much of its quality in the wake of mass tourism. However, numerous buildings and parks from the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy have preserved their charm to the present day.

Today, Opatija is picking up exactly where it saw its future in its heyday: with its favorable location between Central Europe and the Mediterranean, the lavishly beautiful natural landscape, the magnificent architectural witnesses of the past and the feeling of being somehow privileged in this place.